1. 20 years until retirement 2. Not risk averse, invest monthly, will contribute even more during a downturn 3. 100% equity aside from my emergency fund. Do bonds serve any point whatsoever for someone still in the "Accumulation Phase" with the mental fortitude to not panic during a downturn ? Am I...

1. 20 years until retirement 2. Not risk averse, invest monthly, will contribute even more during a downturn 3. 100% equity aside from my emergency fund. Do bonds serve any point whatsoever for someone still in the "Accumulation Phase" with the mental fortitude to not panic during a downturn ? Am I...

If I were in your shoes, my first step would be to invest only enough money in your 401k to get the full employer match. I would not invest a dime until I paid off the student debt. An emergency fund would also be a higher priority than investing.

A good set of snow tires (like Michelin X-Ice) are way better than all season tires on snow and ice regardless of what kind of vehicle they are on. They also wear out a lot faster if you are not driving on snow and ice and have to come off promptly when Spring arrives. Definitely expensive, but defi...

For me mirroring would not be easier. I have 9 accounts. Most of the accounts only have a single fund. My two largest accounts (401k, taxable) have multiple funds. All rebalancing is done in the 401k and taxable. I set up a spreadsheet a number of years ago that makes it really easy to manage. I th...

I think you'll be fine just owning the S&P500 fund in your 401k. There is very little difference between the performance of a S&P500 fund and a total stock market fund. A savings account or CD or money market account or high interest checking account are all perfectly acceptable choices for an emerg...

I would seriously consider an iPad rather than a Chromebook. Chromebook is great tool for folks who need to simple work like word processing, spreadsheets, surfing, etc. If you need something super simple, easy to use for someone that doesn't doesn't do hardly any typing and doesn't need to do "work...

I actually do everything based on what would be the most simple and straightforward for my heirs to handle, even though I know I could spend less on expenses and taxes if I were to do something else. My 401k, Roth IRA, and cash accounts are all in Vanguard's Balanced Index Fund. I did that for three...

There are really cheap OTA DVR options out there. For example, if you have a PC that runs Win 7 in your house, you can buy a very inexpensive USB OTA tuner for it and use the Media Center functionality that Win 7 has. There are a couple of other OTA DVR choices out there too, but they are usually $2...

This will sound crazy but, if I were only making occasional 3-5 mile trips, and the routes were amenable to it, I would just supplement a regular car with a bicycle. The Earth will thank you. Your body will thank you.

Monte Carlo says she has an excellent chance of getting $9000 a year from a $116k portfolio for 11 years. If she lives longer than that, though, chances are very strong that she will run out of money. I would consider a single premium immediate annuity for her. A simple fixed annuity is a great opti...

I think there are a couple of angles to this one: One, you don't need to spend $1800 to get a decent gaming computer. You can get something decent on sale at your local Microcenter for about $600 that will do a great job with games. You can also troll Craigslist for used gaming computer parts. There...

As said, state requirements are different. In my state it is recommended that a potential client apply even though you aren't sure you are eligible. So, I suggest your friends apply and not have to guess. They've both already qualified. I'm just confused as to how someone with a lot of assets who i...

For clarification, you are talking about health care, not long term custodial care, right? I think in that case in some states only income is considered. Right--talking about health care here. Income only seems like a stupid crazy way to determine if someone is eligible for Medicaid health care, by...

So, I'm perplexed...I have a couple of friends (they are married to each other) who both currently have low enough incomes to apparently qualify for Medicaid. They also happen to have a home that's worth about $350k (paid for) and some land that's worth another $150k (paid for) or so. Should a coupl...

I'd say LTC insurance is worth it if you don't have enough money when you retire money to self-insure against an average long term care stay. I think the average cost of long term care is about $250k or so. So, if you are retiring with $3 million, you have self-insured against the typical LTC costs....

I would posit that the recommendation is not too simple, but too complex. I am of the opinion that you can do without both international funds. The extra diversification certainly doesn't hurt but, historically, it hasn't really helped that much either, at least in this country. However, I do conced...

Why is your wife against opening a cash account? I have 200k in cash outside of my retirement accounts (I inherited cash) and it isn't criminal or scary. Tax is the only downside, and it's pretty minimal if you invest in Vanguard's Total Stock Market index fund and just leave it alone. I just keep m...

If they have a mortgage then paying that off might be a good choice for a risk averse person. This is an excellent suggestion. Prepaying any debt they might have is a great first choice, if available. I guess I would also point out that it's OK to leave people to their own devices, even if you know...

I think the discussion is all about asset allocation in the sense that you need to understand why it is that they have avoided any bond or stock investing to this point. Maybe they are just have no tolerance for any volatility. Maybe they don't understand inflation. Has to be one of those or somewhe...

If it were me, I would want goals that are more under my control. So, for example, rather than setting a goal of "I want my portfolio to be worth X by year YYYY", I would have a goal of "I want contribute $xxxx in year YYYY to my portfolio". That is a goal that you can strive for. If the stock marke...

I'm 50 and all in on Vanguard's Balanced Index Fund. No plan to change once I retire, but I will if I find the volatility to be unnerving at that point. All my investment decision making is made based on the volatility. I've found a level that I am completely comfortable with.

It's all about volatility, really. 100% VTSAX will leave you with a portfolio that could cause you a lot of stress, especially if you are retired and are no longer receiving a paycheck. The upside to a 100% VTSAX portfolio is that you will likely do better than any portfolio containing bonds over th...

Probably a bad oxygen sensor somewhere or a pressure leak in the fuel system. I would swing by an Auto Zone on a weekday evening (when they are not so busy) and have them read the code from the computer for you. In general, check engine lights are cautions that you do want to get fixed eventually bu...

The real goal is to convince them that they don't actually need a financial adviser. They have to be unprogrammed from thinking that investing can only be performed successfully using the very expensive help of such a person. If you can do that, the rest will fall into place, as they simply need to ...

I would put my paws on the relevant Rick Steve's books and use many of his recommendations. He also typically has sections in them along the lines of "I have 3, 4, 5, etc. days in Paris", what should I do?

I am thinking about buying a new SUV. I see the same car at two different dealers with the exception of wheel/tire size. SUV #1 has 18" Painted Aluminum Wheels SUV #2 has 20" Polished Aluminum Wheels for $1,295 more. How does the SUV handle on different tires sizes? Is 18" more for comfort and 20" ...

Hi, I'm 24 yrs old and almost one year into my actuarial career (first real job). I expect to make good money in the future and have started investing since I was hired. My question is why is saving a lot for retirement so important? I get that we need money for when we're retired and no longer hav...

You will not recoup the cost of the replacement windows. New windows--especially if you don't do your homework and get good windows--are not going be much more efficient than the windows you have now. If you are looking to make your house more energy efficient, more insulation and sealing your duct ...

Move everything to Vanguard. Put 40% in Total Stock Market Index fund. Put 60% in Total Bond Market Index fund. Or, put 100% of it in Vanguard's Wellesley fund. Withdraw no more than 4% a year from the total portfolio, including dividends.That's it. No adviser of any kind needed. It really is just t...

Mr. Seides should just graciously admit that Mr. Buffett won the bet for all the reasons Mr. Buffett said he would win the bet. But, he can't do that. His livelihood would be at stake. Active management can work well in very limited circumstances. Vanguard's actively managed Wellington and Wellesley...

If you will be forced to withdraw from this fund on a yearly basis at some point (RMD), I do not like the 1 fund idea. I think it would be better to have two funds with a low correlation so that you will always have a fund that is doing well that year to withdraw that RMD from. Why would this matte...

If you will be forced to withdraw from this fund on a yearly basis at some point (RMD), I do not like the 1 fund idea. I think it would be better to have two funds with a low correlation so that you will always have a fund that is doing well that year to withdraw that RMD from.

1) Keep it super simple. 2) Keep your costs super low. No real need to consider a target date fund or ETFs. Those are just going to add to your costs in the long run. Don't worry about buying the bonds now if you can afford the $3k opening cost of buying Total Bond Market Index. Buy them next year w...

The Lifestrategy and Target Date funds are good choices, but you do pay a premium to use them rather than just buying total market index funds. I would just save up that $200 a month until you have enough $$ to buy Total Stock Market Index this year and then do the same thing again next year with To...

You can get a 5 day cruise for $350 a person if you shop it right. And, if you can drive to the departure port rather than fly, you'll save even more money. I've been a number of different bargain and upscale cruise lines and I think a lot of whether you enjoy yourself just comes down to your own at...